Andrea Levere first felt a sharp, persistent pain in her right leg in the fall of 2023. Told by her primary care physician that the discomfort was likely sciatica, she dutifully began physical therapy. But two months in, instead of relief, her pain had worsened, and her physical therapist recommended she consult an orthopaedic specialist.
A slew of tests followed, and in the spring of 2024, scans revealed a tumor on her fifth vertebrae: stage four lung cancer that had metastasized on her spine. “It was really shocking—I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life. It was a deeply sobering diagnosis,” Andrea recalls.
After a specialized blood test was ordered by an oncologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Andrea was referred to Stephen Liu, MD, the oncologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital who would become her lifeline.
“After we got the blood test results back, I had relatively good news—it was a very common type of lung cancer caused by a single mutation. I also learned that there was an extraordinarily helpful oral medication used to treat this type of cancer,” Andrea says. She started the medication that summer. “Within weeks, the pain in my leg was gone—the drug worked at an incredible speed.”
At the start of 2025, Andrea underwent three targeted radiation treatments, followed by surgery to remove the upper lobe of her left lung. The results were astonishing. “When they examined the nodule, they found that 95% of the cancer was scarred over and dead. They tested the remaining 5% and found no resistance cells. Both Dr. [Marc] Margolis, my surgeon, and Dr. Liu pronounced me cancer-free.”
A few months later, her clinical team confirmed that Andrea’s cancer remained in remission. Today, she still takes the medication that helped turn the tide, but her focus has shifted—from survival to gratitude.
For Doctors’ Day in 2025, Andrea made a philanthropic gift in honor of Drs. Liu and Margolis—a gesture that, for her, still felt small compared to what she had received.
“I felt totally 100% confident, I had no doubts whatsoever,” Andrea says of her care team. “The extraordinary care that I got—it was the least I could do to give back. How do you thank someone for giving you the rest of your life?”
Click here to learn how you can make a gift to support oncology at MedStar Health.